Sand or bare bottlm

[56longroof]

My preference is sand. But I also like DSB. I have always felt bare bottom tanks were too sterile looking.

 

[AquAttila]

I wanted to go bare bottom but was over ruled by family as they wanted it to look more like the ocean floor…..

hmm... sounds like you need to have them clean the sand a few times and they may change their mind

 

[TheSheff]

Hey @TheSheff could you please help me understand first year challenges ? And if there are any tips to reduce the risk of chaos.

The first year is always going to have algae trying to break out while the bacteria population try to stabilize themselves. This leads to algae outbreaks and all of that. There's something about a tank that changes around that one year mark that seems very different. Even at six months you might notice that it just slightly stabilizes more.

 

[seamonster]

Sand. Bare bottom tank cycling is different than ones with live sand. It’s not as straightforward as you might think. Especially when starting with dry rock. I understand that you are adding some live rock to boost the cycling but still…cycling a tank with live sand is easier and more stable. Plus bare bottom tanks look more like store displays than a natural reef in your home. Cleaning sand is a ***** but I got the ehiem vaccuum so that helps me. I have a 120 gallon, yeah it’s smaller than your set up but is by no means a small tank. If I perform cleaning on a regular basis I’m good. Plus I added a tiger tail cucumber and some conches. They help out too.

 

[k2-]

Thanks. Thats what my understanding is and thats why i wanted to get the input from folks about what can i do - i will still be cleaning my 150 with sand :-D

Sand. Bare bottom tank cycling is different than ones with live sand. It’s not as straightforward as you might think. Especially when starting with dry rock. I understand that you are adding some live rock to boost the cycling but still…cycling a tank with live sand is easier and more stable. Plus bare bottom tanks look more like store displays than a natural reef in your home. Cleaning sand is a ***** but I got the ehiem vaccuum so that helps me. I have a 120 gallon, yeah it’s smaller than your set up but is by no means a small tank. If I perform cleaning on a regular basis I’m good. Plus I added a tiger tail cucumber and some conches. They help out too.